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US VP JD Vance says Trump admin will ensure AI systems are designed, built, fabbed in the USA

Anthony Garreffa | Artificial Intelligence | Feb 13, 2025 3:03 PM CST

US Vice President JD Vance gave a fantastic speech at the AI Action Summit in Paris on Tuesday, where he said the Trump administration "will sure that the most powerful AI systems are built in the US with American design and manufactured chips".

US VP JD Vance says Trump admin will ensure AI systems are designed, built, fabbed in the USA

President Trump has been steadfast in wanting the USA to benefit from all of its silicon prowess, and now his running mate VP Vance has said the same thing.

VP Vance said: "The Trump administration believes AI will have countless revolutionary applications in economic innovation, job creation, national security, healthcare, free expression and beyond. To restrict its development now will not only unfairly benefit incumbents in the space, it would mean paralyzing one of the most promising technologies we have seen in generations".

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Continue reading: US VP JD Vance says Trump admin will ensure AI systems are designed, built, fabbed in the USA (full post)

TSMC rumored to be working on advanced chip packaging plant in the USA, would avoid tariffs

Anthony Garreffa | Business, Financial & Legal | Feb 13, 2025 2:02 PM CST

TSMC is reportedly working on developing a new advanced chip packaging plant in the US, joining its development of chip-making facilities on American soil.

TSMC rumored to be working on advanced chip packaging plant in the USA, would avoid tariffs

President Trump's second term seems to be taking things to the next level for the United States, with TSMC working favorably to get semiconductor production from Taiwan and onto US soil. In a new report from the Financial Times, we're learning that under President Trump's decision to force chip tariffs on Taiwan, TSMC has eased on its stance towards its expansion into the US, and is now reportedly working on advanced chip packaging facility in the US, which would help ease the effects of chip tariffs.

President Trump has never been a fan of Taiwan setting up factotres in the US, and didn't like the CHIPS Act saying that it is like "gifting out" money to Taiwan. In a recent House Republican discussion, President Trump reiterated his plans to impose chip tariffs on Taiwan, proposing high taxations on chipmakers.

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Continue reading: TSMC rumored to be working on advanced chip packaging plant in the USA, would avoid tariffs (full post)

NVIDIA x MediaTek rumored on new AI smartphone chip now, AI PC chip to debut at Computex 2025

Anthony Garreffa | Processors | Feb 13, 2025 1:31 PM CST

NVIDIA and MediaTek have reportedly explored expanding its business cooperation, with rumors that the companies are now working on a new AI smartphone chip, with its Arm-based AI PC processor expected to debut at Computex 2025 in May.

NVIDIA x MediaTek rumored on new AI smartphone chip now, AI PC chip to debut at Computex 2025

In a new report from DigiTimes, we're learning that NVIDIA and MediaTek's partnership might see a new AI smartphone chip produced, without many details provided, but the decision is being driven by NVIDIA expressing its desire over the years to dominate the custom chip markets.

NVIDIA and MediaTek have been working on a new Arm-based AI PC processor that was meant to be revealed earlier this year at CES 2025, but that obviously didn't happen. The new AI PC chip is meant to be based on the Arm architecture, fabbed on TMSC's new 3nm process node, with a GPU based on the Blackwell architecture.

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Continue reading: NVIDIA x MediaTek rumored on new AI smartphone chip now, AI PC chip to debut at Computex 2025 (full post)

SAPPHIRE Radeon RX 9070 series 'Nitro+' custom RDNA 4 spotted: triple-slot, hidden connectors

Anthony Garreffa | Graphics Cards | Feb 13, 2025 1:01 PM CST

SAPPHIRE is working on its new Radeon RX 9000 series "Nitro+" graphics cards, custom versions of RDNA 4 that AMD just announced it will be unveiling on February 28, wtih a retail launch in early March.

SAPPHIRE Radeon RX 9070 series 'Nitro+' custom RDNA 4 spotted: triple-slot, hidden connectors

In a new post on X by leaker @Olrak29_ we're learning that the SAPPHIRE Radeon RX 9070 Nitro+ graphics cards (I'm sure in both RX 9070 XT and RX 9070 form) with the next-gen Nitro+ cooler being, well, huge. It will take up considerable space inside of your system, with a massive triple-fan cooling design that draws in and pushes a ton of air across the heatsink and multiple aluminum fins, joined by copper heat pipes.

SAPPHIRE is using a tweaked design on the Radeon RX 9070 Nitro+ graphics cards, with an interesting champagne gold color aesthetic, with multiple cut-outs on the sides that have the "Radeon" logo and Sapphire "Nitro+" badges. Inside of the shroud, there are multiple RGB LEDs that emit RGB lighting underneath... but then SAPPHIRE has hidden power connectors.

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Continue reading: SAPPHIRE Radeon RX 9070 series 'Nitro+' custom RDNA 4 spotted: triple-slot, hidden connectors (full post)

AMD officially announces Radeon RX 9000 series 'RDNA 4' reveal for February 28, launch in March

Anthony Garreffa | Graphics Cards | Feb 13, 2025 12:37 PM CST

AMD has officially announced it will unveil its next-generation Radeon RX 9000 series "RDNA 4" graphics cards on February 28, with the new cards hitting shelves in early March.

AMD officially announces Radeon RX 9000 series 'RDNA 4' reveal for February 28, launch in March

In a new post on X by VP and GM of Ryzen CPUs and Radeon graphics at AMD, David McAfee, said: "The wait is almost over. Join us on February 28 at 8 AM EST for the reveal of the next-gen @AMD Radeon RX 9000 Series. Get ready to make it yours when it hits shelves in early March. RSVP by subscribing to the AMD YouTube channel".

We can expect the new AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT and Radeon RX 9070 graphics cards powered by the next-gen RDNA 4 GPU architecture, with the flagship RX 9070 XT rocking 16GB of GDDR6 memory, and a rumored price of $599. If AMD can nail that elusive $599 price for its flagship Radeon RX 9070 XT, it'll come in $150 cheaper than NVIDIA's new GeForce RTX 5070 Ti graphics card that starts at $749.

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Continue reading: AMD officially announces Radeon RX 9000 series 'RDNA 4' reveal for February 28, launch in March (full post)

It's not just the GeForce RTX 5090... we've now got melting connectors on the RTX 5080

Anthony Garreffa | Graphics Cards | Feb 13, 2025 12:12 PM CST

NVIDIA's new GeForce RTX 5080 Founders Edition graphics card was inside of a Redditor's PC, with another melted 16-pin power connector joining the issues of the RTX 5090 FE and its melted power connectors from a couple of days ago.

It's not just the GeForce RTX 5090... we've now got melting connectors on the RTX 5080

This seems to be the first reported GeForce RTX 5080 graphics card having a melted power connector, with Redditor r/Ambitious_Ladder1320 posting on the ASUS subreddit that he had a similar melted power connector issue with his new RTX 5080 Founders Edition powered by the ASUS ROG Loki PSU.

He said that the GPU had a flashing red light, which is an indicator of incorrect seating of a pin on his connector, noting that he did connect the connectors properly, trying again after turning off his PC. The same error didn't reappear, but his monitor resolution and refresh rate were massively downgraded, with his RTX 5080 FE running in PCIe 3.0 x3 mode, which is totally wrong.

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Continue reading: It's not just the GeForce RTX 5090... we've now got melting connectors on the RTX 5080 (full post)

AMD Ryzen AI MAX+ 395 'Strix Halo' with Radeon 8060S tested: APUs go totally next-gen

Anthony Garreffa | Processors | Feb 13, 2025 11:33 AM CST

AMD's new flagship Ryzen AI Max+ 395 "Strix Halo" APU has been tested in 3DMark, showing its new Radeon 8060S integrated GPU showcasing its crazy 3x better GPU performance than the Radeon 890M inside of the Strix Halo APU.

AMD Ryzen AI MAX+ 395 'Strix Halo' with Radeon 8060S tested: APUs go totally next-gen

Inside, AMD's new Ryzen AI Max+ 395 "Strix Halo" APU features 16 cores and 32 threads of Zen 5 processing power, with a huge 40 CUs of RDNA 3.5 GPU: a massive upgrade from the 16 CUs on Strix Halo, close to 3 x the RDNA 3.5 GPU cores. In some new testing on 3DMark Time Spy, the Strix Halo APU is listed with the "Radeon 8050S" with the CPU tab listed as the "AMD Eng Sample: 100-000001243-50_Y".

But according to the OPN code spotted by our friends at Wccftech, it looks to be the AMD Ryzen AI Max+ 395 "Strix Halo" APU with the new Radeon 8060S (so the Radeon 8050S seems to be in error). The Radeon 8050S is a slightly less powerful RDNA 3.5 GPU with 32 CUs instead of 40 CUs on the Radeon 8060S. AMD's upcoming Ryzen AI Max+ 390 "Strix Halo" APU has the Radeon 8050S and its dropped-down 12 cores and 24 threads.

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Continue reading: AMD Ryzen AI MAX+ 395 'Strix Halo' with Radeon 8060S tested: APUs go totally next-gen (full post)

Google's former chief warns AI could lead to a 'Bin Laden' style attack

Ille Smolanko | Artificial Intelligence | Feb 13, 2025 6:37 AM CST

Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt spoke to the BBC to discuss his concerns about artificial intelligence, highlighting a less commonly expressed fear: the possibility that AI could be weaponized for terror.

Google's former chief warns AI could lead to a 'Bin Laden' style attack

Schmidt, who led Google from 2001 to 2017, has been a strong advocate for responsible AI development. While the company is pushing towards artificial general intelligence (AGI) with heavy investments in Google Gemini, Schmidt has remained insistent on prioritizing safety throughout the process:

"It's really important that governments understand what we're doing and keep their eye on us."

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Continue reading: Google's former chief warns AI could lead to a 'Bin Laden' style attack (full post)

Scientists 'racing' to create the first AI for animal-to-human translation

Ille Smolanko | Artificial Intelligence | Feb 13, 2025 5:56 AM CST

According to a recent report from Colombia One, researchers are banding together to create an AI that facilitates animal-to-human translation for the first time in history. The Coller-Dolittle Prize has offered a $500,000 reward, or $10 million in equity investments, to the researchers who make the most progress in this field.

Scientists 'racing' to create the first AI for animal-to-human translation

There are currently two leading projects in the race to talk to animals. Project Ceti (Cetacean Translation Initiative), which focuses on decoding whale communication using AI. And the Earth Species Project, which aims at broader translations of animal communication, including work on crow communication.

Project Ceti's work on whales involves using AI to translate the 'click' communication used by humpback and sperm whales. The project has been in the works for over a decade and has reportedly made 'some progress' towards the ambitious goal. However, researchers are running into challenges with the lack of available data. Project Citi is currently working with just 8,000 vocalization samples, which limits the extent to which they can develop a working mode.

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Continue reading: Scientists 'racing' to create the first AI for animal-to-human translation (full post)

Until Dawn meets 'The Thing' in the latest State of Play reveal trailer

Ille Smolanko | Gaming | Feb 13, 2025 12:33 AM CST

Sony's PlayStation State of Play was packed with reveals for anticipated game titles. Among them: Directive 8020, a story-based sci-fi horror experience set in space.

Until Dawn meets 'The Thing' in the latest State of Play reveal trailer

Directive 8020 kicks off Season 2 of The Dark Pictures Anthology, a series of shorter survival horror games with a unique story and cast in every entry. Directive 8020 was first teased during the mid-credits of The Devil in Me back in 2022, and a full announcement trailer was unveiled at Gamescom in August 2024.

Supermassive Games has always drawn inspiration from classic films. This time, they appear to be drawing on works like Alien and The Thing. The story trailer features astronauts facing an unknown alien threat while they grapple for survival aboard a spaceship called 'The Cassiopeia.'

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Continue reading: Until Dawn meets 'The Thing' in the latest State of Play reveal trailer (full post)

GTA 5's ex-lead just revealed a new game - fans are calling it 'GTA 2077'

Ille Smolanko | Gaming | Feb 13, 2025 12:01 AM CST

Former Rockstar lead Leslie Benzies is working on a new action title set to release in the same year as GTA 6. Enter Mindseye - an action-packed third-person shooter set in a dystopian sci-fi-style cityscape, with explosive, high-octane combat taking the lead.

GTA 5's ex-lead just revealed a new game - fans are calling it 'GTA 2077'

The two trailers, released at Sony's latest State of Play, feature protagonist Jacob Diaz - a former soldier fitted with a neural implant haunted by fragmented memories. The game centers around Jacob's journey to uncover the truth in a world fogged by AI, high-tech experimentation, and military corruption.

The developers have not specifically addressed the open-world comparison to GTA 6, instead emphasizing the cinematic narrative elements of the experience. Throughout the trailer, you'll find Jacob driving around in classic American muscle, and at the very least, it appears to be a semi-open-world experience. It also draws on the narrative third-person formula that Sony does so well, with the inclusion of high-fidelity, motion-captured cutscenes.

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Continue reading: GTA 5's ex-lead just revealed a new game - fans are calling it 'GTA 2077' (full post)

Borderlands 4 release date confirmed for September 23, 2025

Kosta Andreadis | Gaming | Feb 12, 2025 11:33 PM CST

Borderlands 4, the next entry in the long-running looter scooter co-op action FPS series, is set to launch on September 23, 2025, for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC (via Steam and the Epic Games Store). 2K and Gearbox Software made the announcement earlier today during Sony's latest State of Play PlayStation event.

Borderlands 4 release date confirmed for September 23, 2025

Gearbox describes the game as the "most ambitious Borderlands title to date," the trailer highlights its fast-paced action, expanded traversal, and weapons. Plus, it confirms that you'll be able to swim for the first time in the franchise. You'll no longer instantly wipe when touching the water, meaning Borderlands 4's Vault Hunters have learned how to swim.

The trailer also showcases the new grapple hook. This "fixed-point grapple" system will allow for faster movement and more aerial abilities alongside new double-jump and glide abilities. 2K notes that the Borderlands franchise has sold over 87 million copies, making it one of the publisher's most popular franchises.

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Continue reading: Borderlands 4 release date confirmed for September 23, 2025 (full post)

Elden Ring Nightreign release date confirmed for PC and consoles alongside new trailer

Kosta Andreadis | Gaming | Feb 12, 2025 11:04 PM CST

Elden Ring Nightreign is a standalone spin-off to one of the most popular games in recent years, and it's a new co-op survival adventure game set in the Elden Ring universe. From developer FromSoftware (Dark Souls) and publisher Bandai Namco, the game is set to launch globally on May 30.

Elden Ring Nightreign release date confirmed for PC and consoles alongside new trailer

Alongside the release date announcement, Bandai Namco has announced that pre-orders for the game are now open and will ship in four versions: Standard Edition, Deluxe Edition, Seekers Edition, and Collector's Edition. The game will be available on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC (Steam).

Hit the jump for a breakdown of the various versions.

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Continue reading: Elden Ring Nightreign release date confirmed for PC and consoles alongside new trailer (full post)

Sam Altman backpedals on release of o3, shortly after de-hyping 'superintelligence' claims

Ille Smolanko | Artificial Intelligence | Feb 12, 2025 10:40 PM CST

In a recent X post, Sam Altman announced that OpenAI has decided to cancel the release of the full o3 model, which was scheduled to launch in February or March.

Sam Altman backpedals on release of o3, shortly after de-hyping 'superintelligence' claims

He cited the 'complexity' of their model and product offerings as a contributing factor and that they wished to simplify their product range. As part of the new strategy, OpenAI will be focusing all efforts towards the release of GPT-5. Which will incorporate elements of o3, along with its own features.

Last month, Sam Altman also cautioned AI fans to temper their expectations surrounding the company's progress towards superintelligence. He stated in his personal blog, "Twitter hype is out of control again," and that OpenAI will not be deploying AGI next month. He went on to mention that OpenAI is building some 'cool stuff', but for fans to cut their expectations 'by 100x'.

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Continue reading: Sam Altman backpedals on release of o3, shortly after de-hyping 'superintelligence' claims (full post)

Assassin's Creed Shadows PC specs, GeForce RTX 4090, DLSS required for Full RT in 4K

Kosta Andreadis | Gaming | Feb 12, 2025 10:33 PM CST

Ubisoft's delayed Assassin's Creed Shadows is finally on track for its March 20 release on PC and consoles. This week, the company announced detailed PC specs and hardware requirements alongside a new trailer showcasing the PC version. Running on the latest version of Assassin's Creed's Anvil engine, it's another major release focusing on ray-traced visuals.

Assassin's Creed Shadows PC specs, GeForce RTX 4090, DLSS required for Full RT in 4K

The game's 'Selective Ray Tracing' mode will limit the RT to the game's Hideout base building mode. A GeForce GTX 1070 or Radeon RX 5700 is recommended for 1080p 30 FPS gameplay with "Dynamic Resolution and Upscaling." This also includes running the game with the 'Low' quality setting. However, as you can see in the image above, the game is designed to look good across all modes.

Assassin's Creed Shadows is launching with support for NVIDIA DLSS, AMD FSR, and Intel XeSS, including Frame Generation technologies. GeForce GTX 1070 owners will need to run the game with these specs using AMD's or Intel's upscaling solution, as DLSS is limited to GeForce RTX GPUs due to its requirement for AI Tensor Cores.

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Continue reading: Assassin's Creed Shadows PC specs, GeForce RTX 4090, DLSS required for Full RT in 4K (full post)

NVIDIA's Jensen Huang 'No AI can replace 100% of a job, but many can replace 80% of what we do'

Ille Smolanko | Artificial Intelligence | Feb 12, 2025 10:06 PM CST

AI won't take your job, but it will reshape it in ways we've never seen before.

NVIDIA's Jensen Huang 'No AI can replace 100% of a job, but many can replace 80% of what we do'

In a recent interview with World Wide Technology, NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang shared his vision for AI's impact on the workforce, explaining that while no AI can fully replace a human job, many can automate up to 80% of what we do.

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Continue reading: NVIDIA's Jensen Huang 'No AI can replace 100% of a job, but many can replace 80% of what we do' (full post)

GeForce RTX 5060 launch pushed back to April due to 'chip supply constraints'

Kosta Andreadis | Graphics Cards | Feb 12, 2025 7:56 PM CST

Earlier today, we reported on the GeForce RTX 5070's launch being delayed to early March, which would see the mid-range GeForce RTX 4070 successor arrive alongside AMD's Radeon RX 9070 and Radeon RX 9070 XT combo. Although NVIDIA hasn't confirmed this timeline, additional information from insider and leaker on @mingchikuo notes that the delay is due to "chip supply constraints" for the GeForce RTX 50 Series, which is currently causing shortages for the RTX 5080 and RTX 5090.

GeForce RTX 5060 launch pushed back to April due to 'chip supply constraints'

With that, the mainstream GeForce RTX 5060 and GeForce RTX 5060 Ti cards are now on track for an April 2025 debut. NVIDIA hasn't yet confirmed the existence of the GeForce RTX 5060 Series, with the RTX Blackwell announcement at CES 2025 only covering the RTX 5070, RTX 5070 Ti, RTX 5080, and flagship RTX 5090. However, inside information has previously stated that the RTX 5060 Series was on track for a March launch.

According to the source, mass production for GeForce RTX 5070 and RTX 5060 GPUs was on track for February and March of this year, but this has now been delayed to March and April, respectively. There's no mention of the GeForce RTX 5070 Ti, which we've previously reported is expected to launch next week on February 20.

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Continue reading: GeForce RTX 5060 launch pushed back to April due to 'chip supply constraints' (full post)

ASUS releases BIOS update for its new ASTRAL GeForce RTX 50 Series GPUs

Kosta Andreadis | Graphics Cards | Feb 12, 2025 7:29 PM CST

With the arrival of the GeForce RTX 50 Series, ASUS has introduced a brand-new flagship design with the ROG Astral GeForce RTX 5090 and ROG Astral GeForce RTX 5080. "ROG's first quad-fan graphics card" sports a premium build with a custom vapor chamber, increased heatsink fin density, and a phase-change GPU thermal pad.

ASUS releases BIOS update for its new ASTRAL GeForce RTX 50 Series GPUs

In our review of the ROG Astral GeForce RTX 5080 OC Edition, we were impressed by the out-of-the-box overclock, which delivered 10% more performance than the Founder Edition model - with room to push even higher.

However, we did note that once unleashed, the four-fan design led to a louder GPU than expected. This week, ASUS released a firmware update for the 'Quiet Mode' for both ROG Astral cards, promising a "more silent fan curve." A new BIOS Update Tool (spotted by Videocardz), weighing in at 25.13 MB, is now available for both ROG Astral models via the download section on the official product pages.

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Continue reading: ASUS releases BIOS update for its new ASTRAL GeForce RTX 50 Series GPUs (full post)

AMD's new Radeon RX 9070 XT listed for $698 by Canadian retailer, RX 9070 non-XT at $586

Anthony Garreffa | Graphics Cards | Feb 12, 2025 2:02 PM CST

AMD's new custom Radeon RX 9070 XT and RX 9070 non-XT graphics cards have been listed by a Canadian retailer starting at $698 and $586, respectively.

AMD's new Radeon RX 9070 XT listed for $698 by Canadian retailer, RX 9070 non-XT at $586

In a new listing posted by popular Canadian retailer Canada Computers, which has listed multiple custom Radeon RX 9070 XT and RX 9070 graphics cards on its website from AIB partners including PowerColor and XFX, which revealed early pricing. The post has since been removed, but the internet remembers everything.

In the listings, the custom PowerColor Radeon RX 9070 graphics cards started at CAD $839, which converts to around $586, and is the cheapest RX 9070 that Canada Computers has on offer. If you want the most expensive Radeon RX 9070, then that'll be PowerColor's new Radeon RX 9070 Red Devil graphics card which costs CAD $919, or around $642.

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Continue reading: AMD's new Radeon RX 9070 XT listed for $698 by Canadian retailer, RX 9070 non-XT at $586 (full post)

Overwatch 2 Season 15 starts Feb 18: lootboxes are back, new Perk system and maps teased

Anthony Garreffa | Gaming | Feb 12, 2025 1:25 PM CST

Blizzard is changing the game up with Overwatch 2 Season 15, just teased on X, with mechanics, new skins, new maps teased, and the return of the infamous lootboxes.

Overwatch 2 Season 15 starts Feb 18: lootboxes are back, new Perk system and maps teased

The developer is calling 2025 the "next evolution" of Overwatch 2 PvP with the introduction of the new Hero Perks mechanism, and a slew of changes to the game for Season 15 and future seasons throughout the year. The new Perks system sounds fantastic, with the Hero-specific mechanism giving players more control over how each character plays by offering exciting new upgrades two different times as you progress through a round.

Overwatch 2 Season 15 has big Competitive Mode changes, with a new competitive queue, the return of Loot Boxes, and more. Season 15 begins on February 18, with a competitive mode ranked reset, and new "competitive" Galactic Weapons that can be unlocked with rank Weapon Charms, Player Portraits, and more.

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Continue reading: Overwatch 2 Season 15 starts Feb 18: lootboxes are back, new Perk system and maps teased (full post)

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